Part 101
Sitemap --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- - More interesting items/ideas for a Bioshock Rapture MMORPG --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- - Part 101 --- --- --- --- Beast of America - Hype me no Hype Kennyboy (My comments on seeing that later Trailer) : Second watching --- Yes the trailer 'music' would sound alien to anyone of that era. Maybe if enema-solution companies used music like this they could sway customers into trying their product too... We've seen cover art that has little to do with a game before, so why not anachronistic music in a Trailer? (soon game box covers will be a thing of the past). Lots of action compressed into seconds (it is a trailer after all, and they don't usually show you the dull endlessly repetitive/tedious bits of the game). Look at it in stop frame .... Ooh - faceless enemies to slaughter - mass slaughter and death, but its OK, they are now religious extremists, and racists to boot. Killing murderous anarchists just wasn't PC enuf ? Strange, I never heard of any branch of Christianity who worshipped political figures ... On the other hand, leftists and fascist do that all the time. "Beast of America" - what does that mean? Sorry, whats portrayed here isn't America. This wasn't America. Its all quite delusional for anyone to see it as such. Beast of Stupidity ? --- --- --- Multi-Pathing Game Plots or Variable-Path ''' : Games with more than one way of solving things offer more to the Player (and have replay value the company wants to have for the buyers to think they got their money's worth...). But that does require more complicated scripting of the NPCs to react correctly (that simple logic of "Scream and Run at Player, Firing" is 25 year old gaming). Maybe someday more games (and game companies) will have this element to stretch their ever-dwindling play-thru times. A key element of the MMORPG would be for generalized logic for NPCs to adapt to the local environment, instead of having to be hand crafted/written for each level (note - and that would be for much more than the simplistic "Scream and Rush" NPC behavior most games have now). --- --- --- '''Alternative Game Interface : For those artificial game indicators (like lit awareness pointers when an enemy can see you/shoot at you, or their position showing as a dot on a 'radar' map) need something preferably more in-genre (Retro, 50s style) AND because the game is a step-up in detail, you can't have the opponents being the typical "blind as bats", ONLY seeing you when you are absurdly close. Proper hints (still needed) to help along the Player with the limitations of the computers screen/sound and the other senses in a more complex (and subtle) game situation. You DONT want it to become tedious (your narrow vision is like having blinders on and constantly turning to look everywhich way "would get old real fast". Peripheral vision attention indicator, good/more 3D sound clues/cues, alerts from your 'Team' lackeys(Team NPCs pointing things out ...) Of course on a MMORPG, this makes more work for the Server (the whole game does, anyway) though it is possible to do alot 'Client-side'. --- --- --- All Those Corpses - Yep must be Ryans Fault : Note - it was largely Fontaine who foisted the ADAM poison onto Rapture. Ryan shoulda Banned it ? Well the story goes that the side-effects were NOT apparent for a VERY long time (even til the Civil War started). As benign as ADAM appeared at first (don't be fooled by all the in-game Announcements/Warnings and Testimonials from WELL AFTER the effects started to be known), then YOU would/should be calling for the immediate and complete Banning of alcohol, tobacco, video games, fatty foods, sugar as being the similar Nanny-State-Verboten things ? You can't have it both ways (the game-writers seem to think they can with what they try to imply). BTW -- how many of the corpses we see were murdered as the result of Fontaine's/Atlas's actions ? We go through areas which seem well trashed by Civil War fighting. Why do the game writers try to imply that corpses seen (and 'Have you seen' disappearances) in areas previously controlled by Atlas are all Ryan's fault? Ohh, hangings in Olympus Heights !!! Except - "Gene Traitor" sounds more like something Atlas would say, No? More than a few people Atlas would want dead after HE was in charge, No ? Before Atlas, was any of this happening ? "...No, Fontaine Fucks You' -- or Fontaine's normal Modus Operandi ?? Tone of Market/High Street BaS does NOT seem to indicate such troubles in Rapture. No major piling up of corpses in the streets ... citizens fleeing in terror... Even the dissipators in that venue might be a bit frightened, No ? But remember ---> "Ryan BAAAAAD !!!" which HAD to be part of the game's con-job to make that lame 'plot twist' happen ... (OMG ATLAS IS FONTAINE!!!!!! LUKE I AM YOUR FATHER !!!!) It is sorry that they overlooked the biggest twist of all (RYAN FAKED HIS OWN DEATH - TURNED THE TABLES ON FONTAINE, AND AIMED FONTAINES OWN PAWN AT FONTAINE). Yes, pathetic AND sad. - Interesting plot question would be : What would Ryan's loyalists think about Atlas allegedly seizing control of Rapture (what in my story was a fake 'Key Control' which actually told Ryan where Atlas was, so that he could finish him off). The Key (even assuming the plot as told) doesn't control THEM after all. Atlas sticking his head up would open him to any one of Atlas's loyal men putting a bullet through Atlas/Fontaine's head. --- --- --- Columbia Coulda Been 'Levitated' as a Giant Kite : Makes more sense than some fake Quantumz sciencey BS. As long as the wind kept blowing - maybe have it up in the JetStream ?? 12km up ... so that's not too bad (just as likely as people living at 15000-25000 feet) Oops need a string to the ground !!!! STRING THEORY !!!! YAAAAAYYYYYY!!!! Could even have "Columbia" act like a Glider ... Or all the vehicles not sliding along cables would be gliders... Booker jumping about -- giant slingshots/cataputs might work ... Maybe Kite Columbia towed by a heavy train on tracks around the US ??? But Oops no trans-dimensional holes any more -- but that's a good thing because it was alot of confusing made-up BS anyway. (Speaking of Trans-whatever holes - Elizabeth CAN have her Lobotomy as part of the story - so we can have all the delusional crap - but its now just in her mind -- hehe - "Trans-Dementia".) Thats The Ticket !!! Pix (ticket to 1893 Exposition) --- --- --- Create Your Own Plasmid ? : Alot of programming work to implement a flexible Plasmid/Tonic system for the game. Could be done using Asset Templates and the Game's Modular mechanisms, with an addition of a way to attribute (the varieties and options) sufficiently to control the game mechanics (Server and Client) for the new Plasmid's (or Tonic's) effect/affect/operation. Yes, YOU CAN have that *Fart Gun* you always thought should be in the game... (though the Genre/Canon Police might not let you have it except as some 'Splicer' weirdness (a funny name for a valid mechanism that sprays some noxious substance ...) Mac : "OK Bobo, let em have it with the Fartgun !!!" ... Enemy : Gaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhn !! After a while the Plasmids will start being largely recombinations of the same things : * Projecting damage specific/area projectile/beam * Applying a environmental effect (ie- fire) to an object * Applying an impairment to the target mental/physical/sensory * Side-effects of existing elementals With varying magnitudes/variances/malfunctions of affect. They may vary most in the sound/light/particle effects they generate on loading/firing and the projection and the results on the target(s) - irrelevantly substituted visual effect. Funny names of course -- at least we don't need those weird Vigor bottle things (where it seemed they put more effort into the bottle than the actual game operation of the Vigor). Real life bottles were pretty plain - a waste of expense on a general consumer product (which Infinite's Vigors/Tonics were SUPPOSED TO BE, but weren't much used (or priced) that way in the game ). Old-school products would need/have their demo/use/advertisement visual (and whatever passes for that same function post-Ryan.) Again, figure that many of the Original Plasmids WERE NOT exactly what they claim to be -- using trickery and mental distortion (both user and targets) and substitution to carry out their apparent affects. That would be a second component to the potential 'New Plasmid' creation. Note also - that there were many simpler genetic products that weren't as 'Splashy' as the Civil Wars Combat Plasmids ( 2/3rds of all of the ADAM products likely were medical applications/therapies working to repair conditions/damage and remove diseases/afflictions). The bulk of the rest were useful things (tools/optimizers), or cosmetic/gimmick things. The Combat Plasmids actually would be few (why waste research/resources/delays when the basic types were developed (except for some incremental magnitude enhancements)and at the time being a rushed project. Consumer products would normally get stabilization or 'user friendly' enhancement. Combination mixing might also be a game mechanism, although Players themselves are supposed to have limited ADAM use (being Ex-Splicers). But the NPC Splicers can make use of such things freely. Ethics Free Experimentation - just grab a Splicer and do a few tests of your new formula ? - To some extent New "Create Your Own Weapons" could also be done (alot of the same game internal things would be used for them also). Kludgy looking apparatus would be expected, based usually on the same old original weapon platform (existing guns, chemical thrower, grenade projector). The Fabrication mechanism already detailed would play into this. - Another Idea - a 'Fabrication' system for the game's Genetic Research. Unfortunately the reality is outside of most people experience (all that teeny squishy stuff), but some level of caricaturization for visualization processes (related to the simplified mechanics of the Machinery stuff or the Chemical process expected for the original 'Fabrication' game component). Some similar game mechanism would be in the 'head shrinker' (psychological/physiological) aspect of the "Cure" Process, which the Player would be able to participate in. --- --- The LAST Bag of Cheesy Poofs : And so Civilization in Rapture ended .... --- --- --- Some Fan Fiction (NOT!) : ' Saw someone's story fleshing out the Johnny Topside story... With the usual loose assumptions and non-Rapturite take on things, behavior of characters ( reporters ), etc.... Anyway - The Diver 'Visitor' was rescued from his Bathysphere (Deep-Sea Suited or Not), and when they open it up : ITS AN APE !!!! Planet of the Apes - Things apparently have happened 'up there' that Ryan had kept quiet !!! ... (things had obviously 'gone to the dogs' -- oops, thats a different dream sequence.) Sounds like a lame(typical) 'Movie of The Week' on Rapture TV. --- --- '''Kinda like Highlander Two - Lame-Assed Sequel ' : This game (Infinite '''BS ) is hard to get an idea of what it really is. First they name it after Bioshock, but with one of those 'label' words that some marketing guys/game company wonks think sells games ('Infinite'). They start showing one flavor of game with some kind of near Steampunk politico anti-immigrant caricature of what America was supposed to be in a specific historic period (fancy 3D setting with bomb throwing anarchists, 'moral choices', etc..). Add machine opponents and ghosty things (since there are no PC Nazis or Mutants/Zombies to kill) for yet more special effects and glitzy animations. Then there is the Religious Cult stuff that has even less to do with America, but maybe leads into a more metaphysical flavoring, with some kind of Messiah for Columbia, and where you aren't slaughtering 'people' any more (or you aren't forced to side with terrorists). Next comes the pseudo quantum physics fantasy BS, and hints to even stranger 'thought experiment' stuff that derails any linkage with a normal reality. Suddenly it is way too open-ended (confusing inconsistent pseudo-science) simply to facilitate 'hey wouldn't it be neat if we could show this...'. There is no longer any normal reference point to have the 'weirdness' stand out from it - it is ALL weird now. Bye bye Nostalgic Historic view, Bye bye Normal Period People, Hello Purple Unicorn HelloKitty-Potteresque Continuum... Hello Caricature Science/Religion/History/Societal-Issues/Motives/Plot. Game is just 'more of the same' ? Well the Player + guns ARE still endlessly blasting/killing things, so as THAT IS most of the game, I guess you can say it IS 'the same'. On the Other Hand - Dumb confusing storyline, dumbed-down combat ... So, Not quite the same. --- --- --- Independant Game Creations for Private Viewing/Interaction : Just because something is created doesn't mean it gets used in the main game. If the tools are easy enough to use, and there are things like open-access Test Servers, then people might create ALOT of stuff just for amusement (or to get comments/accolades). There WILL have to be some safe way to protect the company from legal issues for these outside creations, when someone creates something with copyright infringements or other problems (with little vetting possible for this Independently created/distributed stuff). A PC-based (non-company operated) Test Server program that has sufficient (full) functionality for anyone to run the 'interesting' Assets and Ensembles themselves, which the Player could download freely from sources outside the company's control. I'm sure that if the tools are adequately handy, that Players will exceed all expectation as to what can/will get produced (Hello Game Industry - diverse uses OUTSIDE of games ...). - A built-in Recorder for the Test Client - An important part of the testing and review process. Makes it easier to Create Vids for Internet posting, with the Creator "working the controls" to get the results desired for the presentation. Tied in with debugging mechanism to assist with that process also. --- --- --- Playing Through BS1 : Idea - For Ciggies and Booze : It is too bad they didn't have a game mechanic where you could use various consumables as Bait -- Something like : piling two together (use Telekinesis to pickup/drop in the Solo games) making them an attraction for Splicers who (when close enough) would come to investigate their fortunate windfall, and while they are distracted you get the 'drop' on them. Possibly, if there are two or more Splicers, they start arguing over who gets the goodies ("I saw Them First !", "No They're Mine!", "Get Your Hands Off Dem !",etc...) Good opportunity for Boobie Traps - Explodies that you shoot (or hurl), or pre-placing the BS2 traps around the Bait. The MMORPG would have Splicer motivations like the one used here, but also they would be clever enough to be wary of a trap. They might even do something similar to you. --- --- --- Saturnine Symbols (Glowing) : Story might be some academic and his students went crazy with ADAM (kind of a f%^&ked up Dead Poets Society thing) and created the Saturnine. With their mystic symbols decided to 'write' their history of Rapture, much of it being self serving (to them) rubbish - leading them to scrawl them about in Arcadia (no doubt there were far more of this 'history' to be seen in the extensive tunnels and caverns). Defrocked Professor from Ryan University map ?? --- --- --- The Misunderstanding - Real Quantum Mechanics Effects ONLY work on the MICRO Scale, NOT MACRO. Real Science kinda gets in the way, don't it. So ignore it, but then pretend there is social relevancy in the game at the same time. Kinda like faking 'Moral Choices'. Applying Quantum Mechanics also requires cryogenic temperatures to be in effect - usually being within a few degrees of absolute zero (-459.67 F/ -273.15 C). Maybe if Columbia was on Pluto ??? --- --- --- Yet Another Game Asset - Water Particles Effects ''' : With various Missions needing the Diving Suit mode in many different situations, there will be a need for a multitude of different 'water' effects. We've seen some in the Solo games with various bits of stuff floating/moving around in the water (not the active sealife like fish/jellyfish/etc...). Bubbles and refuse, clouding of the water, the effect on lighting, the slower movement of objects.,. Imagine having to descend into sewage, or having to clean an airlock (keep all the 'workings' unclogged and unobstructed). Maintenance gots to get done, and there isnt as many Big Daddies around as their used to be. --- --- --- '''Ryanfeine Ingredient in EVE : A genetic agriculture experiment produced a superior easy-to-grow 'Cola Nut' to make a soft-drink formula. It wound up producing an interesting substance which interacted with the ADAM metabolism. It proved a quicker 'pick me up' when peoples energy was depleted by ADAM/Tonic body modification use. Not sure if this was that green goop we saw in many places in bathtubs. The person who discovered this substance obviously was trying to earn 'brownie'/suckup points by naming it after the City's founder (and ultimately his boss). --- --- --- "You will see something you've never seen in a game before" (paraphrasing something Levine said...) : Heh. LIKE : The ending will be a garden scene with the Flower Duet Song from Lakme playing for 10 minutes, and then the hand with the single middle finger gesture is slowly revealed, which then all goes dark, and sits black-screen for another 15 minutes (which desperate Players who didn't "get it" will wait all the way through) then the credits. All with no explanations. THAT would be "Nothing you have seen before" and "Nothing you would be expecting" (except now I have expected it, so they can't do it, and will have to delay the game another month to change it to something else). So it seems they did. (this was all written before the game came out). Sorry Ken, you showed us nothing new and a poor showing even at that. Another would be image of a tombstone : "RIP, Anna DeWitt 1912 Age 1" (childhood diseases had infant mortality rates still high at that time -- AND also it is a simple lesson THERE ARE NO DO OVERS in the REAL UNIVERSE. (Harsh, but the real world generally is). (is this any worse than having the Player be a pawn and be shown that they have no effect on their fate - you drown in the end no matter what you did in the game - NOTHING YOU DID COUNTED.) --- --- --- Keeping Players (Under Paid Subscription) : How many Players will join this MMORPG game to look around a bit, do a bunch of tutorial Quests, and then quit ??? That's a common pattern for many Players. The payment system would be by the month (no Free-to-Play/Pay-to-Win). So it is important to retain Players. You need to get them adventuring from the first days. Flashbacks and visitations to Historic Events (without too demanding an initial Control Interface learning curve), and revisitation of places they saw before from the Solo game ("what it looks like now"), thus playing on their nostalgia and curiosity. What would get them interested in staying in this world (or there long enough for the atypical MMORPG environment to grow on them) ? "Bunny Slope" areas that don't get them 'killed'/maimed-alot, and offer Casual playing (but with sufficient surprises to keep them entertained. Lots of options for things to do, yet still with a linear 'hand holding' progression to help the Players disoriented by the plethora of activities. Early Exposure to all the elements so that they can find activities that they are interested in. --- --- --- So Booker was Supposed to be a Detective ? : So he didn't see something odd about the Luteces and their 'Deal' ? Again the trusting Player (with little choice) is led by the nose through the plot. Comstock and Booker exist in the same Universe (dimension), so shouldn't there have been some 'memories' that Booker might have acted upon (like enough to try to shoot the Luteces in the face for being the root cause of ALL of this sad story ???) Sam Spade would have took care of this whole mess proper-like. That Sky-Hook has magical Quantumz technology in it, so shouldn't it serve as a 'god' killing weapon ? Scene we might want to see : the Luteces being treated to the 'big hook' treatment, as so many unfortunate Columbia inhabitants got from Booker? (Sounds like an amusing mini-game for the MMORPG - "Lutece Revenge"). Elizabeth never thought of the same thing either - but then wouldn't SHE cease to exist if the Luteces were done away with before they started this whole mess ? Selfish much ? (Hmm, if there were infinite Booker Universes then shouldn't we have seen a Male Elizabeth Equivalent at the Drowning Scene ???) BTW, what is a P.I. doing living/with office right in the High-Rent district of Rapture ? If he made alot of money to afford that, then shouldn't he dress better or have a snazzier office (and at least a secretary) ? In the game, they coulda had you walk a bit further to 'show off' a 'not so pretty' (more pedestrian -- the guy running the 'toilet scrubbing' machine) bits of Rapture. At least show the cheap dive that Booker soaks up his alcohol from, or how he keeps having to buy his ADAM to keep his trick thumb flame working. --- --- --- Columbia 'Fireman' - Not Too Well Thought Out ' : What are these things supposed to be for ? Indiscriminately throwing fire around and exploding in a fireball is NOT the best idea for combustible Columbia (if they hit and burn some of those little balloon thingees does the whole city block unbalance and tip over ?) What matter the 'False Shephard', if Columbia is a charred ruin ? For promoting terror amongst the Untermenschen this probably is a bit overkill (Shantytown looked even MORE combustible). And for chasing 'Vox' - again there is that SETTING FIRE TO THE ENTIRE PLACE aspect. Why do you think police in the South used firehoses against civil rights protest marchers ? Obviously an attempt (again) to recreate a Big Daddy type for this non-Rapture game. Some of the pictures of the Firemen make them look more appropriate to being portable fire engines used to FIGHT fires (and more maneuverable in a city full of stairs and narrow passages, versus some wheeled-carts form firepump wagon - faux horsedrawn of course). --- --- --- '''INFINITE Achievements (a good thing...) ' : Achievements are a popular element of RPG/MMORPG games. Thinking about 'Achievements' in various games : having somekind of wizard mechanism where the player fills in options (which CAN be done cleverly .. potentially with a good modular system) to flexibly generate a plethora of Player Created 'Achievements' for the game (cute 'badge' might be the hard part...) Example : I am *name_here* the *nasty_type_here* Killer -- and I will upon killing (and possibly dragging back to civilization) quantity= [ 20 / (*nasty_type_here*.size / me.size) ] *nasty_type_here* carcasses - THEN have the me.title of "*name_here* The *nasty_type_here* Killer", forever more. (This would be a 'wizard' type interface with simple selections/equation inputs/option which get patched automatically into a Scripter-written 'achievement' template. Additional templates would be created by 'Scripter' (and 'Programmer') level Asset Creators (using the modular system facilitating the creation of those). --- --- --- '''Allegations that Ryan's Philosophy were 'Extreme' : Historically Ryan would not appear extreme in his philosophy, if you actually read what he says. There were many people in the USA that still were against the expanded welfare state "New Deal" that FDR had foisted onto the country. Redistribution of Wealth and Government involvement in many aspects of life were an unpopular idea amongst very many Americans. Ryan actually denounces "False Altruism" - people who profit from getting OTHER people to be altruistic - to get money or to control/use them - often it gets FORCED onto people (ie - taxpayer paid for welfare states - wasteful/inefficient as most government operations are). Many people in America went across the new country seeking to avoid that kind of interference. The world Ryan created was close to old America, as it was before the government busybodies grew in size/power/influence (an avenue to get 'power' for themselves). His anti-religion stance reflects the original 'Separation of Church and State' in America (notice his one law ISNT "If you practice religion in your own home Thou Shalt Be executed/exiled", and the game's story is pretty vague about any further issues dealing with religion in HIS city). In Contrast - Lamb's philosophy of desiring to eliminate what basically is 'Human Nature' from mankind is so extreme as to be even beyond 'pure' communists who claim that you can completely eliminate government/the state in a modern civilization (Lamb goes on to murder 'unbelievers' as easily as any Communist has). - Rapture was NOT a "Pure Free Market" ''': What exactly is THAT, and what does it have to do with Rapture ? Some claim that is what Ryan's city ran on. That is fallacious - it is one of those "absolute" Strawman arguments. Wouldn't a "Pure Free Market" have no regulation whatsoever ? No laws dealing with contracts, expectations of 'pay in future' ???? (Social Pressure (if not laws) to enforce paying debts/prevent theft still counts as a controlling mechanism). Money being accepted as a medium of exchange is still a type of regulation. How do you run a complex economy with no Standard weights and Measures ? You might argue 'Pure' is just a phrase, but it is still misapplied when what its use to label is nowhere near the actual absolute meaning of the term. SO lets discard that theoretical Strawman of 'Pure' and simply say that Ryans 'Free Market' was significantly less governmentally regulated (certainly less than today, and of post-FDR America), and still had basic laws enforced. Smugglers and thieves are NOT apparently allowed, and there is more reliance on "Let the Buyer Beware" (which if anything is even MORE necessary with today's government interference, incompetence and meddling). Free Market does NOT automatically imply corruption or cooption of regulatory institutions. In Rapture there is a competing 'Free Press' which can exert great peer pressure (a major regulatory mechanism when informed people can "vote with their wallet"). Such things are not the formula for a 'pure free market'. Note - the audio diaries implying that Ryan suppressed the 'Free Press', but that may have been a case of responding to Sedition (it is all vague and anecdotal), and certainly a 'War Measure' to try to suppress apologists/instigators siding with the Terrorist Atlas (look at the history of what FDR did during WW2 and Wilson during WW1). Rapture's "Philosopher King" Ryan, if all else failed, could probably turn off the lights/heat/air on anyone who abused their freedom to the detriment of others' rights. The Cutting-out of the overhead of middlemen who only interfere CAN greatly increase productivity (all points Ryan makes in his various speachifying). Again Ryan's Philosophy is closer to what America was (Europeans have always had baggage as leftovers of their Monarchies, so might not understand American history - it is not pure freedom on any account - but has alot less old class-influences and more open opportunity). --- --- --- '''Ryan's Fleet : A number of freighters would be used to transport ALL (huge amount) of the material and personnel to built Rapture and then later the immigrants and their possessions. The Olympian ? One ship is not enough. A Fleet (of at least a dozen ships) would probably include WW2 freighters - "Liberty" and "Victory" ships (which would be cheap to obtain at that time after WW2). They would be obtained by Ryan's Surface Industrial empire which would NOT have gone away and was likely still controlled indirectly by Ryan. Later fewer ships would be needed, but for quite a while (even upto and during the Civil War) additional critical materials would have been delivered. Even after Ryan's "death", cargo would be delivered to Ryan's Faction. --- --- --- What if Rapture was Run by Nazis ? : It would be exactly the same ... NO. I'm sure, some (ignorant) people would see the way Ryan ran Rapture as being like a little Hitler (the knee-jerk label version anyway)... EXCEPT -- WE ONLY see it (and a biased view most of the time, at that) during a wartime when strong measures HAD to be made (by Ryan) to keep the Citizens/City safe/alive -- Consider the "war measures" FDR/Churchill had to make to win WW2 ... Anyway, an Alternate : 'Splicer-Nightmare-Vision' version of Rapture -- just for fun (and creativity to keep the players interested). I mean if Call of Duty (CoD) could have Nazi Zombies, why can't we have "Die Unterwasser-Reich" (The Underwater Reich) ??? --- --- --- A Horse IS A Horse Of Course Of Course (OR NOT) : "On the Automated Stallion's back is conduits and a mechanism containing Shock Jockey crystals, which power it." (WARNING Based on Demo Material) Strange. I though the Vigors are ADAM-based (BaS says this ...) So was this to be more 'magic crystal Quantumz stuff originally, or even some-other made-up thing before they picked THAT other psuedo-sciencey stuff ? 'Unicorn Tears' might be substituted as being more reliable than 'Quantumz' particles, which half the time are not where/what they are supposed to be (Remember its in that Theory ...) We wouldn't have all these headaches if they had just stuck to Steampunk-like vagueness and got on with the faked social issues and the necessary slaughterfest. --- --- --- Anarchists are still with us - report these criminals to appropriate authorities --- --- --- Somewhere in Rapture there is a huge warehouse filled with seized Contraband (smuggler crates and such) and who knows what horrors from 'The Surface' might be contained in them??? There are probably other locations where similar caches exist in Rapture. --- --- --- . . .